Clogged Tear Duct - Coulee City, WA

My older daughter had this problem once when she was a baby. When it seemed to start getting worse I had the doctor look at it and she prescribed some medicated eye drops which cleared it up.
H. T.

D.,
Just went through the same thing with my youngest, warm washcloths help a lot, however you need to call the doctor if it is not getting better, my youngest had to have eye drops, but 3 days of them and it cleared up- Good luck

from my experience it does get worse before it gets better. Continue to massage it and use saline solution to rinse it and it will clear up.
Good luck!

my 2nd son had that problem too. I would use a warm washcloth and clean the eye. then with a nother clean warm washcloth I would let it sit on his eye for as long as he would take it. I also had some gel that the doctor ordered that helped and I had to put on several times a day. Since you feel it is getting worst, I would at least call the doctor letting them know that it is not getting better and you are concerned that messaging is not really helping. If she is anything like my son was, he had issues with it off and on for months. I almost want to say about 6 months of at least the area being a bit swollen and red on some days. It seems the duct was under developed and had to mature on its own. I would be curious if your daughter gets a bith mark/ large freckle when she is about 2-3 yrs old. My son did and the doctor told me they were not related, but i think they are since it is the same eye and all. Good luck and I hope this helps.

T.
Ask me how you can lose weight today.

This might sound crazy... but wash your hands before nursing her and assuming that she falls asleep, squirt some breast milk on her infected eye and massage it. Breast milk works wonders! I know of several tear ducts that have been unblocked by doing this.

Our son had a clogged duct for the first 9 months of his life. He was prone to eye infections because of it, but gentamycin drops always cleared those up quickly. His ped said most ducts open on their own by 1 year, and sure enough, at 9 mos it was like nothing was ever wrong. Just try to keep the goop cleaned out and cross your fingers it resolves itself.

My mom would take a Chamomile tea bag and dip it into a warm water (like you would make tea), then let the tea drip into the eye. Chamomile has something in it that kills the bacteria in your eye. But with a 9 day old - I don't know if that would work. I remember when my son was first born - I think I recall that this is normal....but I would still make a call to the pediatrician and see what they say. I know that there is medication. Well, on the other hand it may work - it's natural. I would still call.

My son experienced the same thing as a newborn. I had read a home remedy in Dr Sears The Baby Book and tried it with great results -- putting a few drops of breast milk in the baby's eye. My son's crusty eye cleared up overnight. I also did the massage as well. Hope this helps.

The best, cheepest and not to mention the easiest solution! Just squirt several drops in the affected eye(s), let it sit for a little bit and gently wipe away crusty stuff with warm wet wash cloth. It should clear right up after a couple days of this. This worked amazingly well on 2 of my 3 kids!! Good luck and congrats on the new little girl!! Please feel free to email me with any questions.

My son who is now 5 yrs old had clogged ducts as a baby, he now has very healthy eyes. It took a few months for the tear ducts to open up. I would massage them when he nursed and also put a small amount of breast milk in them. I have know other mothers to do the same and have had great results. Best wishes to you and your new baby.

Breastmilk! It's like an antibiotic. I'd also wash her eyes with a very warm washcloth every time you change her diaper. Breastmilk works on a lot of stuff. My 6-week-old had cradle cap that actually extended down to his eyelids. I didn't recognize it as cradle cap at that point... but I squirted some breastmilk on the eyelid and washed it after a bit and it was absolutely gone before the day was out. (I only did breastmilk on the eyelid.) Anyway, I have heard similar results with the clogged tear duct.

My little one had a horrible clogged duct when she was that age...same thing, her eyes glued shut. My doctor gave me some eye drops that really helped her. They're called "Sulfacetamide Sodium Opthalmic Solution" They helped the goo go away, but she still occasionally has goo in her eyes at 7 months old. The doctors tell me that it can take until 13 months for the ducts to clear. So don't worry, it'll get better. Maybe get some drops though?

My third child had this, too, and the doctor gave us some eye drops that really helped, along with the massaging. Maybe your doc could prescribe some for your little one! By the time my daughter was about 2 months, it didn't seem to be a problem anymore, but we kept the drops around for a while just in case.

That happened when my boy was a baby. We used a really warm wet wash cloth pressed against it a few times a day to help "melt" the clog, and it cleared up quickly

My son is 3 months old and has had a clogged tear duct since he was born. My doctor also told us to massage the area since there really isn't much that can be done until the baby is older. This may sound strange, but I read online that you can drip some breast milk into the eye when you nurse which should help it heal better. I asked the moms in the breastfeeding group that I am part of, and many told me the same thing. I have been doing this for the last few days and it is amazing since his eye has really cleared up! I have heard that 90% of blocked tear ducts clear up by the time the child is one year old, but I totally understand that you don't want to wait that long. There may be some antibiotic drops the doctor could give you, too. Good luck to you!

My son had the same thing, we were prescribed ointment and had to put it in a few times a day. It finally went away around 3-4 months and we were so glad! One eye went first and the next followed a week later. Just like all the ladys have said it can take up to a year to go away, its normal, and may result in surgery if it goes past that time.

Breast milk in the eye! It doesn't sting the eye at all and it helps a ton! My son's eyes were just like your baby's. I would lay him down on the bed and bend over him and hand express a few drops NEXT to his eye, just above the tear duct. It would roll in to his eye.. It worked really well. It felt strange to do but no one was watching and the results were good, so hey, why not? Breast milk really is amazing!

Hi D.,
I'm an acupuncturist who has unblocked people's tear ducts by simply needling a point below the outer ankle bone. Both feet. You could try gentle acupressure in that area, though it probably wouldn't be as effective as acupuncture. I've heard good things about breast milk too. (see other writer below)--M. in West Seattle. (Taylorgoodhealth.com)

Good advice here. I would add to the warm washcloth suggestions that the washcloth needs to be wet. It's the moisture as well as the heat that helps.

Breat milk works great for clearing up a tear duct. Just squirt a little in her eyes while nursing. My oldest had blocked tear ducts and it worked great. It also works good for conjuctivitis. Good Luck!

Hi D., my daughter, who is now 14 months old, had it when she was first born to. They gave me an ointment to put in her eye and told me to massage it as well, that sometimes they will grow out of it. They set up surgery to have it "probed" open when she was 9 months old and said if it clears up just to call and cancel it. Unfortunately it never cleared up. We did have to go through with the surgery and it took about 10 minutes, which seemed like a LIFETIME long for us. She did well with it. They gave her gases to put her to sleep then they said she was fine and the recovery is worse, they will cry and be real floppy and you feel so helpless and feel like you were mean to her, but in the long run it pays off!
It has now been 7 months since Paige has had it done and there is a TREMENDOUS difference! I don't regret one bit getting it done.. But just cross your fingers that he'll grow out of it, because I highly doubt they'll do it any earlier than 9 months. (At least here they won't.)

Hi D.,
My youngest daughter had clogged tear ducts in both eyes when she was born... We followed what our doctor told us to do with the massaging and warm compress and one did clear up by the time she turned 1. After her first birthday we decided to have a very small procedure to open it up under anesthesia. Finally after a year we saw our little girl with clear eyes! It was hard to see how much it bothered her... She would rub it all the time and it was uncomfortable when we would massage it. So my advice is to have your doctor show you how to massage the tear duct... I was very supprised when my doctor showed me how hard to push (not just rubbing). We tried eye drops for infection, but it didn't do anything. It did work to massage the tear duct for the one eye. Each morning she would wake up with her eyes stuck together and everyday her eyes were always wheapy. I thought she had short eye lashes, but now that her eyes are better we can see her beautiful long lashes. Good luck and Congratulations on your second baby!

As you have read it does go away eventually, but it can take a while. Craniosacral therapy, to me, is the most unexplainable therapy, but I know it works. It works wonders. It seems like nothing is happening, but it somehow expands, releases blockages and can correct the physiologic imbalance that causes newborns to have blocked tear ducts. I tried everything and more that people below suggested, massage, breastmilk, warm compress, herbal remedies, antibiotic creams and eye washes, over several months. After 3 sessions of craniosacral therapy it cleared up. Seriously, try it. Despite knowing they grow up fast, you will tell yourself you will take more photos when they're eyes look less goopy! Take the photos anyway for those dearest memories and then take your babe to see someone that does craniosacral therapy for infants.

Did the dr tell you to use warm compresses? Mine did in adition to massage and it worked.

D., my son was born with clogged tear ducts and I dealt with the yucky eyes for 10 mos, taking him to the doctor to get eye drops to help keep his eyes moist.... they eventually went in when he was 10 mos old and probed them open....meaning taking a tiny instrument and puttin it thru the tear ducts to open them... they put the child under anesthesia when they do this and it does not hurt the child.... my son cried red tears for about 2 days after that and has had no probs since then and hes now 9 yrs old.... my great nephew was also born that way and my niece is checking into having that done.... my brothers tear ducts opened on their own as he got older....
A.

Hey D...........I know what you are going thru......my little girl at that age had a clogged duct too. We massaged it, cleaned it, pampered it, it would go away for a short while but soon enough it would be clogged again. We ended up have shunts put in her eyes for 3 months then having them removed. It is for sure a last resort as you never want to have to see your child go thru surgery unless necessary. I would just keep up with the massaging and then after a year if it still has not cleared up talk with your ped. about possibly unclogging it. Hope this helps and good luck!

~H.

I squirted breast milk in my baby's eye, it worked within hours.
Good luck,

My daughter's ducts were clogged for nearly 3 months. It's only unsightly, but as long as the fluid is clear, it's no big deal. If it dries a little cream tinged, that's normal too. If you're really concerned, call your ped., but clogged ducts are really normal.

My now 13 month old also had clogged tear ducts from birth. My doctor just told me it was very common and usually goes away on its own between two and four months on average. At my son's 6 month check up I brought it up again because it seemed as if it was not going away and I was getting concerned that his eyes were constantly running and crusting shut. She referred me to a pediatric optamologist who also said it was very common and they can do a procedure to unclog the ducts but since it almost alway clears on it's own in the first year they don't recommend the procdure till after their 1st birthday.(It's not a fun procedure for the child or the parent's for that matter!) Anyway, my son's ducts unclogged on their own at about 9 months so my point being it is completley normal and keep massaging and it will most likely clear on its own. If it doesn't then have your pediatrician refer to you an optamologist to have them checked out. Good luck I know what a pain it is to have to constantly wipe their eyes open.

My 4 year old had the same thing when he was a baby. It cleared up after a few weeks. To help we did massage them, tried the breastmilk thing (as other women have described), and we used saline and organic cotton pads (not the balls, but those round disks) to remove the gunk when he woke up from sleeping.

Best wishes!

My daughter had one as a baby too. The doctor told me that it can last up to a year, if it goes beyond that then they have to do surgery to clear it. I don't know if it gets worse before better, hers was pretty consistient, and she did have to have surgery at 18 months old. It was a success and she did fine through the process, no side effects and no recovery time for her. Don't worry, it's more of a nuisance and probally bothers you more than her.

My first daughter struggled with a clogged tear duct off and on until she was two. We finally ended up having to put her through the procedure where a silicone tube is looped through the bottom and top ducts and tied off in the nose. That was extreme, because she was so old and I didn't keep up with the massage. (I don't mean to scare you - she's fine now.) 9 days old is nothing to worry about!! If by 6 months she still has it and you've been doing the massage every day, then take her in to have a doc clear it out. They'll probably prescribe drops for you at your next visit, but I don't think medicine/chemicals are necessary in your infant's eyes. Just keep up with the breastmilk in the eye and massage. She'll get used to you doing it and it will go away!

i know this sounds silly but take some tea bags and boil them like you are going to make iced tea or a cup of hot tea and let them cool. use the cold tea bag soaked in the tea to wash out her clogged eye. when i was a child i would get clogged eye ducts often and my mom did this. i have used it with my kids as well. something about the tannin in the tea? anyway, it's completely harmless and by all accounts natural and it should clear it up quickly!

My son (my second baby also) had clogged tear ducts in both eyes and we were constantly cleaning his eyes out. In the mornings, he sometimes couldn't even open his eyes because they were glued together! It continued until he was 6 months old, I remember the day because it was my sister's birthday, and his eyes were worse than ever. But then the next day there was nothing, and he's been fine ever since. Hang in there!

My son was born with a clogged duct. Each doctors appointment I would comment on it and my doctor would ignore it. She finally sent me to a specialist who said... 60% of the time it will resolve itself by 6 months and 80% will resolve by 1 year. He did give me some eye medication because he said that your eyes get tired of being wet all the time. The medication helped tremendously keeping the eye boogers away.

At 9 months my son still had a clogged duct and I commented to my doctor that I didn't think it was going to go away on its own. She agreed. After a week vacation in which I forgot the medicine and his eye was extremely boogery, I vowed to get the surgery done to open up his eyes as soon as I got back. Well I didn't make and appointment and by the end of the week of being home, I noticed that his eyes were not boogery anymore, and by god it really did resolve on its own. Sucked that it took that long, but it has been better ever since.

Just be patient. See if you can get some Eurythimiacin (sp??) for her and wait and see.

~D.

Hello D.,
I understand, my son had the same thing at just a few days old - and it was so sad. His Dr. gave me a prescription call Erythromycin Ophthalmic Ointment made by Bausch & Lomb. It is an ointment just like they put on babies eyes right after they are born at the hospital. It is super easy to put on, it doesn't matter if their eyes are open or closed you just put a thin layer on their eyes and it just looks "wet" just like at the hospital - my son never cried, flinched or even cared that I was putting it on. And then no more "crusty eyes", it still got "goopy" for like a day and a half, then he was all better. We continued to put the ointment on his eye for one week just like the Dr. suggested and he has not gotten a clogged tear duct again and he is just over two months old now :) So, I hope this helps - I know I was reluctant to give my son any prescriptions (and this is the only medicine he has had at all), but it honestly helped a ton. Good Luck and Congratulations on your new baby!!
~C.

My first son had a clogged tear duct when he was born. The doctor kept telling us the blockage almost always resolves itself before the baby's first birthday. As the months passed, he would have good days, where he looked pretty good and bad days, where the skin around his eye was red and chapped. It seemed to improve when he was on antibiotics for ear infections a time or two. We finally took him to a pediatric opthalmologist after he turned one and still had the blockage. The specialist wanted to do a simple surgery to poke the duct open, but it involved anesthesia, so we took some more time to think about it and in the meantime, at last, the duct opened up on its own. I guess I would advise you to keep massaging and be patient. It's hard to see them look so sad and uncomfortable, but the thought of surgery is worrisome, too. Good luck and congratulations on your new baby girl!

I had to unclog both my kids eyes at one point. I was told to wash my hands and clean the baby's eye out with a warm cloth and then massage the tear duct for a few seconds 3 times daily. If it doesn't clear up, then I would go back to the doctor and ask if he has some medicine to clear it up.

Kim B.

Both of my kids had clogger tear ducts. They didn't improve with the massaging so I just gently washed the goo away a few times a day. It eventually went away. I think it lasted longer in my first kid but maybe I wasn't paying as much attention the second time around. Congratulations on a healthy boy and girl! S.

my friend's daughter had this and said that breastmilk and cranial sacral therapy did the trick for her 3 month old. hope that helps!

Have you tried to put your breast milk in her eye?
I was not sure if you had by your post. I did that and it worked right away. It does not hurt them infact, yu can use it for all sort of things especially the earliest milk since it is full of defense hormones, antitoxins etc. Good luck!

I thought my last son (now 2) had a clog, and I knew to massage it and we did - then he got to where he was glued shut after every sleep.....turned out it was an infection in the duct that took ointment to get rid of....check back in with your Doc ~ especially if he hasn't actually looked at it.

Breast milk!!!! Drop some in the eye every time you nurse. This cleared up my boys eye issues.

Hi D.,

I'm a mother of four, ranging in age from 5-20. Each of my children had this issue at one time or another. The tear duct gets clogged because it doesn't know how to function properly yet, and bacteria are in there. When you massage the tear duct you should always use a fresh clean, ultra soft, baby wash cloth. Dip a portion of it, large enough to stick your finger under, into warm water and put a drop of Johnson's baby shampoo on it. Johnson's baby shampoo will not harm or hurt your baby's eyes and it kills bacteria. The warmth of the wash cloth will loosen anything dried in the tear duct and the wash cloth will keep any unknown bacteria on your hand from getting into your baby's eye.

It does take time and patience, but this too shall pass.

Good Luck,

D. P.

First of all, I am very sorry that you are having to deal with this because I know how hard it can be. My son had a clogged tearduct and to be honest with you if he gets sick or is out side in the wind his little eye still starts running. It does not however goop and stick anymore, it just tears up. He is 4. I have a few friends that have had this as well as my niece. The best advice I can give you is to place a warm wash cloth over it, they say the more often the better. I was just talking about this the other day with a girlfriend and it seems more prevalent in mixed babies, my son is asian/caucasian. There is a surgery they can perform but I think it is best to just wait it out and keep it clean. Good luck.

D.-
Two of my kids had clogged ducts. The first one took several months to fully clear but eventually it did. I also recomend a warm wash cloth on the eye, then massage it after warming it. Also my natropathic doctor let me know on the second one that your breast milk works very well as a healing agent and to squirt it into my babys eye. This seemed to work fabulously well! I have also used this "healing breast milk" concept many other ways for cuts, scratches (esp. fingernail oops cuts), ad I am pleased with the results!

try putting some of your milk on the eye while you are nursing and massage it into the eye some... it helped with each of my kids when they were having troubles with their eyes... breast milk is the best antiboti.. hope that works...

My little guy was just treated for a clogged tear duct, though it had an infection as well. He's only three weeks old, so I know that feeling of looking into your sweet baby's face with goop coming out of the eye!
My doctor told me to watch out for eyes being shut, and the goop becomeing yellow or green. If the eye got red (inside the red, or the outer eye area) or swollen; to come in. The next day, we were in her office and got an antibiotic ointment. The infection completely cleared within 48 hours (really, it was almost an immediate result!)
If yours isn't green or yellow, it may not be an infection - but keep wiping it with a warm wet cloth. My doctor also advised me to only massage after the infection cleared, and to only do so twice a day. She showed me specifically to use my weakest finger (ring finger) to start at the corner of the eye, very near the nose, and using a downward motion. She said to only do four strokes each time.
Hope this helps your little bundle! :)

Our first never had this problem either and our second did. It took until just before his 6 month check up for it to clear up, but we would forget a lot of times to massage because it wasn't too bad, so we would remember mostly when it got goopier. I think he just pretty much outgrew the weepy eye at some point.

Also, I have a friend whose little boy always had very weepy eyes and occationally they would be really goopy like your daughters. At one point he got a pink eye infection in one eye and after doing the prescibed drops in the one eye, it cleared up completely, so she checked with the Dr. to see if it would be ok to use it in they eye that didn't have the infection and he said it was. Both eyes have been clear since. So, if the massaging isn't working after a while, maybe check with your Dr. about drops.

Good luck!!

B. =)

My second child was also born with a clogged tear duct. Massaging helps and just using a warm cotton ball or washcloth when they get older will wipe off the crusty stuff. My Dr. told me it would clear up between 6-9 months by itself and it did. I know if it doesn't they have a small procedure where they will insert a small/fine tube down the tear duct to drain it but I want to say that won't happen until 10-12 months if it doesn't clear up on it's own.

My mother-in-law taught me this tea bag in hot water, then squish it out - wait for it to cool. you can use English breakfast, black or orange Pekoe tea. Then put the damp tea bag on her eye. The tannic acid in the tea helps draw out problems in the eye. It really worked for my baby.

you can spray some breastmilk into your babies eyes. do it everytime you feed the baby for a couple of days it helps clear things up. it has natural antibiotics in it. my whole family has done it with all our kids and have been able to avoid any kind of antibiotic drops. this works for colds in the eyes also.